The List by Veronica Lynch

Twenty-five years ago, Fiona Thorpe's classmates voted her most likely to explode. Through hard work and rigorous self-control she is now every woman's fantasy, every man's wet dream. Head held high, and less than half her former size, Fee returns to her high school reunion weekend. Her goal: exact revenge on those who made her life a living hell back in the day. Her first attempts are remarkably easy and give her profound satisfaction. But no one is more shocked than Fee when she discovers the handsome, respected man seated beside her at the opening banquet is a modern day Paladin, who avenges those unable to defend themselves. To make matters worse, he is her former chief tormentor, Mick Dineen.

Are some wounds too deep to heal? Or can two former enemies find common ground?

How much do past events in your life effect your future actions? How often do you fantasize about getting revenge on those who caused you grief in the past? And how far would you go to avoid such confrontations?

All these questions and more confront Fiona Thorpe when she receives an invitation from The Reunion Committee of Summerville High.

Ms. Lynch’s feisty heroine relives her traumatic school days as the victim of some horrendous bullying. You may assume the story would be deep and dismal, but you’d be wrong. The author’s skilful weaving of backstory with present events is masterfully done and creates several laugh out loud moments.

Druzilla Horvath may be a secondary character but she is the motivator that has Ms. Lynch’s heroine breaking her vow never to return to the scene of her miserable childhood. Druzilla’s strength of character is never in doubt and made apparent in a few cleverly constructed sentences that enhance rather than detract from Fiona.

Ms Lynch uses her heroine’s memories to introduce several other characters to her story, so by the time the reader meets the hero, Mick Dineen, his background and past misdemeanors are well documented, as are his later achievements.

The manner of Fiona and Mick’s reacquaintance guarantees more laughter and reader satisfaction. If I have a small nit with The List, it is the manner in which Fiona reacts when her identity is revealed. It seemed out of character with all her previous actions and attitude.

That said, the author's fluent writing style, in your face characters, story plot and goals were captivating, and had this reader eagerly turning the pages to discover how the author brought the hero and heroine together